#seed cones

[crudlynaturephotos]

[emperornorton47]

Spruce cones

[unkn0wnvariable]

Larch Cones

Cones forming on the branch of a larch tree, in Twywell Plantation.

[thesilicontribesman]

Logan Botanic Gardens, Port Logan, South Rhins, Scotland

[skhardwarevers1]

oh yeah bird city ain’t commentary on shit. I wrote it about the bird feeder in my backyard.

[badseed-63]

www.badseedphoto.com

[coffeenuts]

A giant from a tiny seed by m_sowers https://flic.kr/p/2onofFn

[fishyinbowlosoup]

No art yet, but I made this for Christmas :3

(Yes those are real leaves, pinecones, etc I collect/forage on my free time)

Couldn’t put Christmas tree this year Cz my house still has an ongoing renovation and will dirty the tree if we put it out :((( so made this instead to feel a lil festive c:

[crudlynaturephotos]

[emperornorton47]

Spruce cones

[atticusisshitposting]

white winged crossbill <3

be a witch and go into a magical realm to collect supplies and find out which north american animal will choose you as its companion

[hiracaeth]

who up frolicking through the woods, foraging for nuts and berries with walking sticks and not a care in the world

[pikaclan]

Moon 537

Season: Leaf-bare

Overarching Events

Not enough medicine cats!

Ceremonies

Time has taken its toll, and Worm has noticed themself slowing down. They have worked timelessly for many moons, but it is time for them to retire.

Sapkit stands alert when called: they know what they want in life - to be a mediator. They are named Sappaw and given to Seedthrift to start their training

Deaths

Worm, Conepelt, Rimekit, Peachpaw, and Pigeondart eat tainted fresh-kill and die

Cloudbeam wails when they see the body of Worm and is grief-stricken It's like losing a tail, or a limb, and Bassfoot is grief-stricken Snipgorse and Hollowminnow grieve but are not stricken

Gorsepaw grieves but is not stricken

Raccoonrock and Runningleaf grieve but are not stricken (they have lost so many kits like goddamn)

Quivershine grieves but is not stricken

Popreed feels numb with grief when they hear what's happened to Pigeondart and is grief-stricken Cloveflower grieves but is not stricken

So much grief and death has taken its toll on the cats of PikaClan, Celebistreak and Hollowminnow are particularly shaken by it

Births

Celebistreak brought a litter of 3 kits back to camp, but refused to talk about their origin. Assuming whatever deed brought the kits, it was done before he joined and he is not questioned (they indeed have outsider roots)

Spikekit (female), Blazekit (female), and Serpentkit (female) are born!

Misc

Runningleaf was trying to fluff up their nest when they saw a thorn in their bedding. Another prank, but it could not fool them!

Flutterbumble is caught breaking the Warrior Code

Hemlockpaw tossed a snake out of the camp before it could bite someone

Health

Ebonyeye has a headache Popreed's running nose stopped Cinderstar's fleas left Blotchjay was wandering the territory too long and got frostbite Seedthrift's fleas left Raccoonrok's fleas left but got greencough Cloudbeam's greencough abated Shiningfrost's whitecough abated Longmoss's fleas left Dancinghaven's fleas left but got whitecough

[passengerpigeons]

she jack my pine (P. banksiana) till my serotinous cone's sealing resin melts at 50°C (122°F) allowing my seeds to disperse and colonize shortly following a stand-clearing fire (Larsen & MacDonald 1998).

[coratatum]

In the US at least, I know that a good number of wild bird feathers can be illegal to take, and since I'm not an expert on identifying random feather on the ground, I'd only get feathers if I know the source is ok. Meaning, my MIL owns chickens and turkeys and she'll sometimes pick up the prettiest shed feathers and offer them to me for crafting. That's fine.

But I've seen beautiful feathers randomly on the ground in the woods behind my house...and I'd not take those. If only because I don't know the bird it came from and thus it might be illegal to own/use. Which sucks. But I'd rather not encourage someone to go kill a bird to replicate anything I've made.

Oh my god I'm sooooo mad right now

So. I have no business telling people not to collect wild plants/materials.

I do it all the time.

However.

The words "wildcrafted," and "foraged," even "sustainably harvested," are terrifying to see in an ad on Etsy or Instagram

There is a such thing as the honorable harvest where you ASK the plant if it is okay to take, with the intention of listening if the answer is NO. Robin Wall Kimmerer talked about this, She did not make it up, it is an ancient and basic guideline of treating the plants with respect.

Basically it is not wrong to use plants and other living things, even if this means taking their life. But you are not the main character. You have to reflect on your knowledge of the organism's life cycle and its role in the ecosystem, so you can know you are not damaging the ecosystem. You have to only take what you need and avoid depleting the population.

Mary Siisip Geniusz also talked about it in an enlightening way in her book Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have To Do is Ask. She gave an example of a woman who was on an island and needed to use a medicinal herb to heal her injured leg or she would not survive the winter. In that situation she had to use up all of the plant that was on the island. This was permissible, even though it eliminated the local population, because she had to do it to save her life. But in return the woman had the responsibility to later return to the island and plant seeds of that plant.

And what makes me absolutely furious, is that there are a bunch of people online who have vaguely copied this philosophy of sustainability in a false and insulting way, saying "wildcrafted" or "foraged" materials to be all trendy and cool and in touch with nature, when it is actually just poaching.

If you are from a capitalistic culture the honorable harvest is very hard and unintuitive to learn to practice. I am not very good at it still. This is why it is suspicious if someone is confident that they can ethically and respectfully harvest wild materials with money involved.

So there's this lichen that is often called "reindeer moss." It looks like this:

It grows only a few millimeters a year.

This is "preserved" reindeer moss.

It is from Etsy, similar is also sold in many other online shops, many of which have the audacity to describe it as a "plant" for decorations and terrariums that needs no maintenance.

It is not maintenance-free, it is dead. It has been spray-painted a horrible shade of green. The people buying it clearly don't even know what it is. It is a popular crafting material for "fairy houses," whatever the hell those are. So is moss, also dead, spray-painted, and wild-harvested. Supposedly reindeer moss is harvested sustainably in Finland, where it is abundant, for the craft industry. However poaching of lichens and mosses is absolutely rampant.

It's even more upsetting because there's hardly any articles drawing attention to the problem. This one is from 1999. And the poaching is still going on.

There is a "moss" section on Etsy, and it is so upsetting

These mosses and lichens were collected from the wild. Most of the shops are in the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia, which are the major locations of moss and lichen poaching. There are some shops based in Appalachia selling "foraged" reindeer moss.

Reindeer moss may be abundant in Finland, but in Appalachia it should NOT be harvested to be sold on Etsy as craft supplies! Moss doesn't grow quickly. Big, healthy colonies like this took years to grow. Some of these shops have thousands of sales, all of bags and bags of moss and lichen, and thinking of how much moss and lichen that must be, I am filled with horror.

Clubmosses do not transplant well, and these ones have no roots. The buyers do not realize they have bought a dead plant because clubmoss stays green and pliable after it is dead.

This is especially awful because in Mary Siisip Geniusz's book she talked about clubmosses being poached so much for Christmas wreaths that they had almost disappeared from a lot of forests.

I don't even know if this is illegal if it's not a formally endangered species so I don't know if I can report them I'm just. really sad and angry

[straykids-writersnet]

Gluten Free Pomegranate, Orange and Pistachio Ice Cream with Waffle Cones

Gluten Free Pomegranate, Orange and Pistachio Ice Cream with Waffle Cones. Gluten Free Recipe, Granulated Sugar, Heavy Cream, Vanilla Extract, Pistachios, Waffle Cones, Pomegranate Seeds, Whole Milk. This Gluten Free Pomegranate, Orange, and Pistachio Ice Cream with Waffle Cones recipe makes a delicious treat for any occasion. The tangy pomegranate, sweet orange, and crunchy pistachios combine to create a unique and delicious flavor that is sure to please. And, thanks to the gluten-free waffle cones, this dessert is suitable for everyone.